Curved Screen Smartphones: 5 Reasons Not to Buy One

By Carrie Tsai,  Last Updated: December 31, 2019

So far, the curved screen has become a feature on many flagship mobile phones since more and more phone manufacturers are making their phones with curved screens. This trend was started with Galaxy Note Edge which was the first-ever phone with one-curved edge screen back in 2014. Then Samsung refined on it the following year, introducing a dual-edge curved display phone called the Galaxy S6 Edge. Since then, other phone vendors followed such as OnePlus and Huawei, which made curved screen a trend.

Nevertheless, there are just a few users who choose to buy smartphones with curved screens. The vast majority of them still prefer flat displays. Why? There are undoubted merits owned by curved screen phones. But why don't most phone users choose to buy ones on earth? This post is going to get you through the reasons. Just take your time and keep reading.

Pros of Curved Phone Screens

Without a doubt, compared with flat screens, curved phone screens look gorgeous and have extended functionality. That's why more and more phone manufacturers spare no effort to their curved phone screens. Let's take a look at these pros first:

* Better Image Quality and Daylight Readability: The curved phone display brings a series of visual effects such as overall image quality, improved contrast and color accuracy. Moreover, it increases daylight readability especially under ambient light.

* Longer Battery Life: Curved screens greatly reduce visible reflections and brightness, which attributes to the increasing of battery life.

* New Functionality with Edge Lighting: Smartphones with curved screens bring a new feature called edge lighting. On edge lighting, there are notifications which can alert you such as phone calls and text messages.

However, given that the curved screen smartphone still has their advantages, why don't most of phone users choose to buy one? With that in mind, let's turn the attention to the following reasons - that is the cons of the curved screen. After that, you'll figure out everything.

Phones with Curved Screens Are Pricier

Price is generally the crucial factor affecting consumer's purchase intention. When it comes to curved screen smartphones, their prices are much higher than the same level flat screen ones. Most phone users cannot adopt this particularly expensive trend. Moreover, given that phones with curved displays just bring a few extra value, users would rather buy a flat one. The following table lists the top 5 best curved displays smartphones in 2019 as well as their prices. Have a look and you'll notice how expensive they are.

The reason why curved screens smartphones are more expensive than flat ones lies in their higher production cost. Making a curved screen one is much more difficult than making a flat one, which requires more costs. The price difference could be a reason to make your next phone display flat unless you're strongly persuaded by the curve display pros.

Curved Screens Are Fragile And Prone to Crack from Dropping 

Another factor affecting users'decisions of not buying a curved screen phone is that curved screens are fragile and prone to dropping and breakage. This is led by their thinness at the edges. On the one hand, the extended edges on curved screen phones mean that there are more fragile glass area and less solid marginal structure. Once the phone drops down, the chance of cracking increases. On the other hand, an edged screen phone is more inclined to dropping and is harder to grip since it is thinner at the edges.

The majority of phone users wouldn't choose a phone that is fragile and could probably drop anytime, anywhere. After all, they will not buy a phone with a few new features at the expense of durability.

Repairs Are Expensive

High repair cost after dropping and cracking is another reason why not many users choose to buy smartphones with curved displays. After all, not everyone can afford a screen replacement after an accidental drop. Compared with flat ones, the repairs of curved screen phones are much more expensive due to the difficulty of replacement. Making a curved screen phone is more difficult than making a flat screen one. Then, similarly, replacing a curved screen is more challenging than a flat one. Generally, the repair costs of a curved display is twice higher than its flat counterpart.

Accidental Palm Touches Cannot Be Rejected

While considering buying a smartphone, users always expect the displays of phones they choose to buy can work well. However, curved displays phones sometimes cannot meet the expectations of users. They can easily lead to accidental touches with the palm on the edges. This is another reason why most phone users don't buy ones.

A curved display on your phone means that you hold the phone from the sides while touching the edged display. Usually there are apps and tools on the edges. Thus, it is easy to accidentally touch those apps and tools on the edges while holding a curved screen phone, which can easily get the phone run into issues.

Protective Cases and Screen Protectors Can't Fit Well

External protective cases and screen protectors are also parts of the problem with curved screen smartphones. In order to decrease the degree of breakage from intense dropping, cases are wore on the back of phones by gripping onto the edges of the phones' bezel while keeping the screens visible. However, a curved phone screen means that there are less areas of bezel for grabbing or that there are less visible screen areas. That can easily cause "no protective case" situation if cases are thin.

That is, the cases cannot work well as a protective tool since there are less areas of bezel for grabbing. In order to keep the edges of screen visible, cases manufacturers make the case to grip the very small area of bezel available, which means that the screen can rise above the edges of the case easily. Thus, while dropping, the case may not has protective effect on the phone.

The screen protector is also a headaches while having a phone with a curved display. On the one hand, gluing plastic and tempered glass sticker onto a curved screen is much more difficult than onto a flat one. There are always botchy air gaps remaining on the surface. On the other hand, liquid optically clear adhesive (LOCA) glue and UV lights which are used to avoid air gaps are very expensive since they are difficult to make and use. Thus, when a curved screen protector breaks, it's difficult for users to make replacement.

Conclusion

Now everything about the reasons why the majority of phone users choose not to buy curved screen phones are clear. Buying a phone that is fragile and expensive to handle isn't an advisable choice. Unless there is any must-have feature with the curved display phone, it's preferable to return to your flat one which works well.